Lincolnton Theatre Guild presents "Cotton Patch Gospel"

Friday

Mar 1, 2013 at 12:01 AMMar 1, 2013 at 9:03 PM

Bernie Petit

Hallelujah, y’all.

The story of Jesus Christ is being retold with a 1960s rural Georgia setting in “Cotton Patch Gospel,” the Lincoln Theatre Guild production taking place tonight and next weekend at the Lincoln Cultural Center in Lincolnton.

The country bluegrass musical is adapted from the book “The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John” by Clarence Jordan and features music by “Cat’s and the Cradle” songwriter Harry Chapin.

There are references to grits and trailer parks and other southern archetypes you won’t find anywhere in the Bible. But that doesn’t make the central message of this updated parable any less valid, said director Linda Hunsucker .

“We’re not trying to teach the local Bible class,” Hunsucker said. “We’re trying to teach Jesus’ message, which is love thy Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.”

Based on the gospels, the country bluegrass musical puts a down-home spin on the familiar names and places from the good book. Mary and Joseph are Mary Hagler and Joe Davidson. John the Baptist is the more southern John the Baptizer (Rickey Newton Jr.), the apostle Peter is called Rock (Newton) and the traitorous Judas Iscariot is simply Jud (Kirk Herbertson ).

A manger in Bethlehem is replaced by an old abandoned trailer in Gainesville. Valdosta, not Nazareth, is Jesus’ childhood home here. Instead of being crucified in Jerusalem, the savior is lynched in Atlanta.

But throughout it all, Jesus is still Jesus in this stripped down version of “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” Hunsucker said.

“It gets to the meat of why he came, what he was about and the difference he can make,” she said.

There is no elaborate set on the stage. Rather, it looks as if Lincolnton is having a tent revival with Matthew (Marcus Trey Newton) showing up with some of his buddies to tell the story.

The country bluegrass band providing the music is integrated with the cast onstage. There’s Hunsucker’s husband, John, who plays bass and Gov. Herod; guitarist Ron Atchley; banjo player Colin Ray; and multi-instrumentalist Tim Rhyne, who plays harmonica, dobro and guitar.

The overall result, Hunsucker said, is a play that’s a little more relatable to modern sensibilities.

“I’ve never walked in the holy land, I don’t know what the dirt feels like, I don’t know what the scenes look like or what the sky looks like,” she said. “I’m very familiar with cotton fields, I’m very familiar with what Georgia looks like, so when the story or play talks about Gainesville, I can relate.”

Want to Go?

The Lincoln Theatre Guild production of “Cotton Patch Gospel,” which opened Friday, continues at 7 tonight, at 7 p.m. Friday and March 9 and at 3 p.m. March 10 at the Lincoln Cultural Center, 403 E. Main St., Lincolnton . The play, based on the life of Jesus, is set in 1960s Georgia and includes country and bluegrass music by Harry Chapin.

Tickets are $10 adults and $7 students/seniors. For more information, visit www.lincolntheatreguild.com or call 704-452-7830.